Thursday, 28 June 2012

Horror Review: Street Trash (1987)

When a liquor store owner finds a case of "Viper" in his cellar, he decides to sell it to the local hobos at one dollar a bottle, unaware of its true properties. The drinks causes its consumers to melt, very messily.

Ah the good old melt movies! They were all the rage in the 80's, full of bright colours, brutal death scenes and packed full of some of the cheesiest acting we ever saw.

Despite all this there's no denying how much we enjoyed them, especially "Street Trash". In my opinion it's the best melt film that was made. I was first drawn to the film by it's amazing cover, now we've all been fooled by many VHS covers but with this film what else were you expecting when the photo is of a guy melting in a toilet?!

This is one of the films that made me fall in love with practical effects. For a low budget film the effects were just magnificent, yes we see the use of many vibrant colours instead of blood but that was the fad in the 80's, I mean even "Evil Dead" used bright colours and you never hear anyone complain about that. I felt the colouring of the gore was a great way of escaping a too-high a rating from censor boards as-well.

The film is often cited as being quite offensive, which I find quite strange with content seen in many Horrors today, maybe people weren't ready for it? Maybe it was ahead of it's time? Maybe some people need to lighten up, it is an 80's Horror/Comedy after all! Still some people have labelled it the most offensive film ever made, well until the likes of "A Serbian Film" and "Human Centipede" came along.

The camera work in this film is so well done and the acting is quite good considering the cast were really a bunch of unknowns, although some did go on to have great careers, such as Vic Noto. The only actor I was aware of was R.L. Ryan from "The Toxic Avenger". Unfortunately this film is hard to find, I hope one day it gets a full uncut release, the fans deserve it.

Cheesy? Yes! Brutal? Definitely! A gem of the 80's that is must-see to believe? YOU BET YOUR ASS IT IS!!!!

If you want to see "Street Trash" trailer then just click on the video below:

Miscellaneous facts about the film:

The producers were unsuccessful in getting product sponsorship for the film. The only company that was interested were the makers of Drakes Cakes, which would send the cast and crew a box of snacks every week. By the end of the three-month shoot, everyone had eaten enough of the snacks that when it came time to make the scene where the fat bum explodes, the fake stomach was filled with boxes and boxes of Drakes Cakes.

Based on an original short film by 'James Muro'

Actress Miriam Zucker was brutally attacked by thugs in a New York City subway station several years before making this film. The attack left her partially deaf and with a large scar on her scalp. The scene in the movie where her character is attacked and gang-raped by homeless men in the junkyard brought back the feelings of fear and dread she felt during the incident.

In the original short film, the drink was called Thunderbird not Tenafly Viper.

Bill Chepil who plays the cop was a real NYPD officer before making this movie.

Mike Lackey, who starred in the film as well as doing the make-up, also created the penis. He said they made three different sizes: the little one (The Pecker); the medium sized one (The Poker); and the big one (The Packer).